Are you an aspiring writer? Here are my 10 basic writing tips...for a summer Friday afternoon...
1) Write on a regular schedule. I write every day, sometimes just notes. Sometimes I take Fridays off like today and blog, but most days, I write fiction four to five hours a day.*
2) Finish a first draft of what you write.
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3) Re-write.
4) Share it with someone who reads a lot.
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5) Re-write and look at plot closely.
6) Re-write and look at characters closely.
7) Re-read entire work,try reading parts out loud. Cats are very good listeners.
8) Finish.Say it's done.It's good enough. So many really good writers I've met in workshops, in my MFA program, never trust in themselves to say a work is finished.
9) Send it out into the world— and this is a much larger discussion—— but letting it go is the important part, if you want to be a writer with readers (as opposed, I guess, to a diarist).
10) Breathe. Take a breath. Read, a lot. Take notes on what you read. Is there a word you discover? Is there a name? (I'm becoming a big collector of names). Be generous to other writers. Write a review. Try a different form, for example, write flash fiction if you write novels. Don't wait too long to return to #1.
Do you have some basic writing tips to share?
Have a great weekend all!
--Caroline
*P.S. If you haven't read my new young adult novel BEFORE MY EYES yet, look for it!! More at www.carolinebock.com
